Categories

Life with a Left Handed Kid

If you know what a Southpaw is you’ve probably already guessed I’m left handed. It’s no secret I’m a Lefty, and proud of it too!

With National Left-Hander's Day right around the corner, Wed. Aug 13, it reminded me of the challenges I’ve faced as a lefty growing up.

Now I have a left-handed child, and I know he’ll face many of the same obstacles. If you’re a parent with one or more Southpaw children, it helps to know how they think and what difficulties they face from day to day …

Left Hander’s Think Differently

We lefties think with our right brain, which is responsible for music, art, perception and emotion. This side of the brain thinks in straight lines. Your lefty is likely to be skilled at math, science and sequencing.

Proving the point, my 3-year-old, left-handed son recently organized all of his and his brother’s Hot Wheels cars by color and placed them in individual zip-top baggies to store them properly.

I read that high levels of organization and being very neat is a trait of Southpaws. So I guess that explains why he was compelled to organize his cars. Looking back, I used to do the same thing :) Still do ... just now with beads.

School Presents Unique Challenges for Left-Handers

Since only 10-15% of the population is said to be left-handed, school can be a left-hander’s nightmare. It caters to the majority -- righties.

The "Converters"

When I went to school, teachers were still trying to convert left-handers to the "other side". I remember my teachers placing my pencil in my other hand and me thinking "what are you doing!?! that doesn't even make sense to me, stop it!". However thank goodness times have changed and being a southpaw in school is embraced and accepted.

Left-hander friendly school supplies?

When it came to school supplies, spiral notebooks were not my friend. Impossible to use with a left hand while writing. The spirals always dug into my hand. To this day I have to use top-spiral notebooks. And, to this day my hands still get smudged with ink, like this.

Desks made for right-handers leave lefties feeling the pinch. Imagine having to continuously sit stretched with your left arm reaching to the right side of your desk to take notes. Plus, computer keypads and the mouse, athletic equipment and scissors were made for the right handed. (In my day there were never left-handed scissors at school, so cutting anything was a challenge.)

Living in a right-hander’s world makes completing tasks more difficult for your left-handed child, so it might take him longer than his peers to finish classwork. I remember wondering why I was a little different as a child being left handed. Beware potential self-esteem issues arising from this, however me being told by my family that it is something special made me start to look at with completely different perspective.

Tip: Writing Without Smudging

You might have noticed left-handed children tend to leave school with their hands and sleeves covered in graphite smudges. Teach your child to tilt his paper to the right, and hold a pencil the correct way to avoid the mess and potential embarrassment. Quick-drying pens and left-handed spiral rule notebooks help too.

If you are a lefty and or your child, what are some of the daily hiccups that happen to you?

Comments

Leave a comment

Your name

Your email

Your comment

comments have to be approved before showing up

Stay in touch! Subscribe below to get an Exclusive 15% Off discount code direct to your inbox.

My Mantra

When designing a new piece of jewelry I'm always envisioning the wearer. When will she wear this? Why will she wear this? My belief is you never need an excuse. Don’t save it in your jewelry box, don’t pull it out only for date night, don’t wait for a special occasion… wear it now… Because you are you and that makes it special enough to wear today and everyday.